McCaskill Opposed To Postal Service’s Saturday Cut

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ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Count U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) among those who aren’t ready to accept the U.S. Postal Service’s proposal to halt Saturday mail delivery as a way of saving $2 billion per year on costs.

“We’ve got the best, the most reliable, the fastest, and most universal postal service in the world. I just don’t think we should give up on that,” she said Friday on the Charlie Brennan Show. “They jumped over a lot of other things we could be doing to do this and I think it has long-term negative implications, particularly for rural communities.”

The Missouri Democrat says ending Saturday delivery should only be a last resort.

Earlier in the week, Republican Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri told KMOX he was upset that Congress had not been told in advance that the Postal Service would be advocating five-day-a-week delivery.

McCaskill suggested reducing the number of “stand-alone” post offices across the nation. “There’s no reason why, in small communities, you couldn’t have a post office that’s also a coffee shop and a window for your dry cleaning.”

The senators also said it is time for the Postal Service to turn up the heat on its competitors, FedEx and UPS. “Making them pay more for us to carry their packages, along with maintaining that six-day delivery, I think are two of the most essential ingredients to put us back on a profitable, fiscal, sustained path.”